Books, arts and culture

Vampire films

The undead will live forever

THE original vampires of medieval Slavic myths were described as mindless and decaying, almost pitiable sufferers of the curse they must endure. The popular image of the brooding, seductive and sartorial undead charmer was created in the name of entertainment. Over a century of cinema, this image has been revamped (as it were) many times: the hideous monster of F.W. Murnau's “Nosferatu”, still considered the gold standard by many despite being made in 1922; the sophisticated aristocrat of Bela Lugosi’s Dracula in 1931, followed by Christopher Lee’s dashing count in the Hammer Horror films of the 1950s and 60s; then a brief period in the 1970s when the vampire legend lurched from pastiche to parody.

Over the last 25 years, vampire films have become more stylish and hard-hitting, pushing the boundaries of the genre. In “Byzantium”, a new film directed by Neil Jordan, the bloodsuckers are a mother (Gemma Arterton, pictured above) and daughter (Saoirse Ronan) who have been on the run for centuries from a male brotherhood from whom the mother stole her vampire “gift”. Set in a crumbling seaside resort where they both kill to protect their secret, and struggle to maintain it, “Byzantium” takes the rotting grandeur of the aristocratic vampire legend and places it in an austerity-ravaged British coastal town. The story is as much about the struggles of a single-parent family (albeit one that survives on human blood rather than state benefits) as it is about the curse of the undead.

The turning-point towards the modern vampire flick was Joel Schumacher's stylish teen horror “The Lost Boys”, in 1987, which targeted a new audience by portraying vampires as good-looking, wise-cracking and street-savvy. Along with Kathryn Bigelow's visceral “Near Dark”,released the same year, vampire films became more violent and gory.

In the early 1990s the pendulum swung back to gothic decadence again, with Mr Jordan's “Interview with the Vampire” and Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Bram Stoker's “Dracula”. Both combined the aristocratic elegance of the 19th century vampire with the sex-appeal and savagery of more modern variants. “Francis made this sprawling romantic epic with Gary Oldman playing this tragic figure rather than a remorseless monster.” said Mr Jordan at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in April. It was followed by “Interview with the Vampire”, “which is full of catholic guilt and forbidden sexual urges and that was something cool and different too,” he added.

This new wave of vampire films was attracting the big budgets usually reserved for action movies, and the result was box-office success on a scale no vampire film had enjoyed before. Mr Coppola's epic was the ninth-biggest grossing film worldwide in 1992, making over $215m. Mr Jordan's film raked in more than $223m in 1994. Vampires were back—and suddenly bankable.

Some experiments with the genre worked—the “Blade” trilogy, starring Wesley Snipes as a tooled-up martial artist and vamp hunter, combined the action and horror genres to great effect. But, in a rush to bleed the genre dry, some outlandish concepts increasingly favoured style over substance. Computer-generated messes such as “Van Helsing” and the vamps-versus-werewolves mash-up of the “Underworld” series threatened to undo vampires’ credibility.

“I think all vampire movies are, by their nature, silly,” says Mr Jordan “The whole idea lends itself to ridiculousness. But without a strong hand or vision, they can become overblown and dire.” In “Byzantium”, Mr Jordan manages to combine the classic with the modern, telling the story of the characters’ corpse-strewn flight across the centuries while incorporating period-drama opulence and gritty, blood-soaked action.

The most successful vampire film franchise in recent years is the “Twilight” series, adapted from Stephenie Meyer’s teen romance books. Some purists have accused Ms Meyer of damaging the legend by “de-fanging” her vampires and subjugating her female characters. Mr Jordan is more optimistic: “So what if Stephenie Meyer has turned the vampire story into a metaphor for chaste adolescent relationships, that's okay, you can do that. I think the myth can handle it.” The numbers agree—individually, the saga's five films are the highest-grossing vampire movies of all time with a combined taking of more than $3 billion at the box office.

There is no doubt that “Twilight” has taken bloodsuckers to a new commercial level. Many fear that this success may lead to an even greater dilution of the legend. “Byzantium”, for example, shakes up a male-dominated order by placing two strong, independent female characters at its centre. And it has a more subtle and nuanced approach than previous CGI-heavy efforts to reboot the genre. But there is an inescapable feeling that film-makers are just prolonging the inevitable. Maybe vampire films have run their course? “I think it's time for a new monster,” Mr Jordan concludes, somewhat lamentably. “We've got vampires and we've got zombies—come on, we need something different. When you have vampires fighting werewolves, which in my opinion is a really bad idea, you know that the vampire legend is running on empty.” But isn’t he forgetting that vampires live forever?

"Byzantium" will be released in Britain on May 31st and in America on June 28th

I think your history is incomplete without considering the TV series, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' (late 90s - early 2000s). It was Buffy who merged vampire legend with soap opera (and I don't mean that in a derogatory sense, I was and remain a huge fan of the show). In doing so, I think it paved the way for 'Twilight', and probably also for 'Byzantium', although I haven't personally seen either.

It also introduced the concept of a sharp and witty script, something almost unknown in the genre previously. This (I think) did a lot to make the genre more respectable, among audiences who want something more than CGI and gore.

I think your history is incomplete without considering the TV series, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' (late 90s - early 2000s). It was Buffy who merged vampire legend with soap opera (and I don't mean that in a derogatory sense, I was and remain a huge fan of the show). In doing so, I think it paved the way for 'Twilight', and probably also for 'Byzantium', although I haven't personally seen either.

It also introduced the concept of a sharp and witty script, something almost unknown in the genre previously. This (I think) did a lot to make the genre more respectable, among audiences who want something more than CGI and gore.

The Economist didn't even mention Werner Herzog's 1980 adaptation of Nosferatu? "Thorough Research" indeed. Nosferatu is not only a very faithful adaptation of the original one, but also a deeply philosophical meditation of love and the curse being undead. It was released both in German and English. So Economist cannot give any lame reasons. Anyway, Some masterful dialogues from Herzog's adaptation:

Lucy:Death is overwhelming. Eventually we all die.
Stars pain and whine in confusion
Time passes in blindness
Rivers flow without knowing their course
Only Death is cruelly sure.

Count Dracula: Dying is cruel only against the unsuspecting...
But death is not everything...
It is more cruel to be not able to die.
I wish I could partake of the love which is between you and Jonathan... For me the absence of love is the more abject pain.

"When you have vampires fighting werewolves, which in my opinion is a really bad idea, you know that the vampire legend is running on empty.”
Mr. Jordan doesn't seem well versed with vampire movies if he thinks vampire movies, by his above definition, have been running on empty since the 1940s.
"Computer-generated messes such as “Van Helsing” and the vamps-versus-werewolves mash-up of the “Underworld” series threatened to undo vampires’ credibility."
The article itself makes the same mistake, too.
Regardless, I won't be satisfied until I get the following: Dracula vs. Godzilla, Dracula vs. El Chupacabra, and The Ultimate Tag-Team Match: Dracula & Frankenstein vs. The Rock & Zombie 'Macho Man' Randy Savage.

It should also be noted that Buffy introduced the concept of a vampire's redemption by a reconnection with his mortal predecessor's soul, thereby extirpating the depraved demonic influence that guides most vampiric motivations. Similar notes were sounded in Blade and Underworld.

Being Human (BBC Three tv series, recently finished) did the vampire and werewolf conflict so well, with the twist that at the heart of the programme is a friendship between a werewolf and a vampire (with a ghost too).

Here's hoping the dreadful campire sub-genre is not undead. Many potentially mesmerising vampire stories have been cursed or terminally infected with campiness: think of the films Innocent Blood and the original Buffy in 1992 alone.

Isn't satan's intriguing conception of the undead an interesting foil of eternal life granted by Jesus in the Catholic Church's Eucharist? Almost as compelling as the "Communist" revolution promised by the atheist Soviet regime as an alternative to Catholic Communion, or, again, the Eucharist, isn't it?

How about the American blacks' famous terms about "soul food" and "bread" for money? All that flies in the face of Catholic Eucharist, which is the Source and Summit of the Catholic Faith, doesn't it?

How about Rock 'n Roll, that nuance against Peter the Rock upon whom Christ built His Church and Roll meaning a piece of bread ... oopsy, there's satan mocking the Eucharist once again, isn't he?

Poor, poor, poor pagans, so ignorant of catechetical education you don't even know what's going on around you, do you? Just wait till you meet what's on the other side of the veil separating mortal life from eternity. Ooooo, just wait!